About Me

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Hi, My name is Irene Owens. My greatest passion in life is Art. I love drawing portraits, painting whimsical pictures and illustrating for children. I also collect children's books and hope to one day get one of my own picture books published. I have a shop on Etsy where I sell my prints, hand painted pendants and mirrors. In this blog you will find artists that inspire me, brilliant handmade creations and my own art. I hope you enjoy my posts.

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Interview with illustrator Elina Ellis


I am very excited to share my interview with a fantastic illustrator, Elina Ellis.


Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Elina. I am 31 and I live in Cornwall – one of the most picturesque counties in England. I have a son who is 8. His full name is Alexander, but I call him Sasha rather than Alex, because this name reminds me of home, which is Ukraine by the way.




When did you first become interested in illustrating? 
I always drew. All my friends starting from nursery and then through school and university have my drawings. I used to draw the caricatures of teachers during lessons to entertain my classmates, and I used to draw all the school posters to keep the teachers happy. I illustrated my first book at the age of 15. At the same age I started working for several newspapers providing them with funny images for the back pages. No money of course, but they printed my work! And my granny collected all the cut-outs from all the newspapers with my drawings!




Describe your average day.

I get up at 6. Draw for a bit, then get my son off to school, then gym, then draw a bit more, then another job (most illustrators I know have a second job for some financial security), then pick Sasha up from school, then we go swimming, or squash, or badminton, then come home, dinner, homework and sleep for my baby and more drawing for me. And then a bit of reading before bed time







Where does your inspiration come from
From everywhere! Books, magazines, shop windows, nature, people, life in general. Anything can inspire me! I am constantly looking around and trying to notice every little thing!




What is your working environment like? (you can provide pictures if you like)
I will provide a picture, but in the meantime my working environment is quite simple. I have a table in the middle of the living room with two computers and a drawing tablet on it… That’s usually all I need.



What tips would you give to people thinking about becoming illustrators?
You have to be REALLY passionate about illustration, because it is very hard work with plenty of hurdles and set backs. Only with this burning passion inside you do you have a chance of becoming successful and enjoying what you are doing tremendously.





What 5 things do you love doing most?

Drawing (obviously), dancing (I love salsa!), sports (running and squash are my faves), travelling (everywhere and anywhere, starting with the neighboring cities and finishing with the most remote parts of other continents), learning (I think I have been studying all my life an I am definitely not done yet!)






Which 3 websites could you not live without?
http://500px.com/


I can live without the rest, I am afraid)))

But there are about 20 others that I am checking more or less regularly


Who are your 3 favorite illustrators? 
Oliver Jeffers, Emily Gravett and Rob Scotton

Where can people find your work?




My blog

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